Duel, Prefect Alfred

"Prefect, Electra has been killed by Ren." Hobbs cast a cautious glance at the Prefect's expression before biting the bullet and repeating himself.

Bang!

A ripple of purple Divine Power erupted, and the intricately carved stone table instantly crumbled into powder. Alfred stood up as if he hadn't even noticed.

"Good, very good!" Alfred's tone rose sharply, and flashes of lightning flickered between his brows. It had been a long time since he had felt such anger.

After a moment of silence, Alfred exhaled a long, heavy breath and asked in a deep voice, "Tell me the details, and give me the Combat Projection."

"My lord, here is the Combat Projection. Ren, he..."

Hobbs quickly retrieved a Crystal Projection from his Spatial Ring. As he handed it to Alfred, he began to report the scene of the battle.

Alfred did not speak further, listening only to his steward's report while injecting his Divine Sense into the projection, watching the entire battle carefully and missing not a single detail.

When Alfred saw the White Silk Web that Ren unleashed in the final moments on the Battle Arena, a flicker of surprise appeared in his eyes, though he quickly regained his composure. "You may leave."

"Yes, my lord. Hobbs takes his leave." Upon hearing this, the white-haired steward Hobbs felt a weight lift from his heart and quickly retreated from the courtyard.

"To be able to utilize the Mysteries of the Water Law to such an extent, he can indeed be called a genius. His strength seems much greater than it was twenty million years ago; I fear he is not much weaker than Purple Blood. No wonder he dared to come and challenge me. However, he is far too naive and arrogant. What a pity, what a pity."

Alfred shook his head, his fists clenched tight, as he passed a death sentence on Ren in his heart.

Even by his standards, Ren could be considered a genius rarely seen in hundreds of millions of years. He would have been more than happy to recruit such a person under his command, but unfortunately, Ren had killed Electra. That meant he had to die, for Electra represented him—he represented the face of the Liang'an Prefecture Prefect.

Alfred put away the projection, pondered for a moment, and then, with a flicker of movement, suddenly vanished from the courtyard.

In the blink of an eye, three days passed, and Ren's battles reached their final day.

"Ren! Ren! Ren!"

As the tenth day of combat began, earth-shaking cheers spread, louder than in the previous days, for everyone knew that today, a new master of the Hundred-Battle Victory was about to be born before their very eyes.

Ren walked slowly to the center of the arena, his gaze calm as he looked toward the tunnel, quietly waiting for his opponent to appear.

After a while, a red-haired middle-aged man in green robes walked onto the field. He looked at Ren with a respectful expression, and then his voice rang out across the entire arena:

"I concede!"

After saying these three words, the middle-aged man bowed slightly to Ren, his tone filled with a touch of flattery:

"Lord Ren, I know I am no match for you, so I will not waste your time. I came to participate in the Battle Arena originally to temper myself by fighting strong opponents, but after watching your battles, I clearly realized my own insignificance. I will return to seclusion and will not emerge for another hundred million years."

After the green-robed man finished speaking, he quickly fled the Battle Arena, as if afraid that Ren might strike him down on a whim.

Ren was stunned for a moment, then felt a mix of amusement and helplessness. However, he could understand; in reality, after his battle with Electra, the Hundred-Battle Victory was already a foregone conclusion. The subsequent days of fighting were, in a sense, just to make up the numbers, so his opponent conceding was not a strange event.

As the second and third challengers appeared one after another, they all, without exception, chose to concede. Today's ten consecutive victories were achieved in almost an instant, appearing to have no real substance at all.

However, none of the million spectators in the stands expressed any objection. They only cared about one thing now: whether Ren would, as he had claimed, issue a challenge to the Prefect.

As for Emmanuel, who had originally considered entering the arena, he had decided not to come after Electra's death. Although he didn't think Ren would dare to kill him, he couldn't win, and going up there would only be a humiliation. As for the looks from his clansmen when they saw him afraid to step onto the stage, Emmanuel could only keep his face dark and remain silent.

"Swish!"

A youth wearing the green robes of the Bifu Army landed swiftly on the Battle Arena. He walked toward Ren with a smile, then respectfully took out a Spatial Ring and handed it to Ren, asking at the same time:

"Lord Ren, congratulations on achieving the Hundred-Battle Victory in the Liang'an City Battle Arena. This is your reward: ten billion Inkstone. At the same time, you have earned the qualification to challenge the Prefect. You may issue a challenge to the Prefect within ten thousand years. I wonder if you wish to challenge the Prefect now?"

As his voice fell, countless gazes immediately fixed upon Ren. Everyone was waiting for his answer. Although Ren had said he came to challenge the Prefect when he fought Electra, that was not a formal challenge, and it was still possible for him to change his mind.

Facing the surrounding gazes, Ren remained calm, his tone indifferent as he spoke: "I stand by what I said. My goal in coming here was to challenge the Prefect. Therefore, I, Ren, now, here, formally issue a challenge to the Prefect of Liang'an!"

Although Ren's voice was not loud, it reached the ears of everyone present clearly. At this moment, everyone's heart was filled with excitement. To witness such a grand event as a challenge to the Prefect was truly exhilarating.

"Since that is the case, I accept your challenge."

Abruptly, a voice rang out from the spectator stands. The arena, which had been whispering, instantly fell into a deathly silence. Everyone looked toward the source of the voice in astonishment.

"Swish~"

A blurry figure that had been sitting in the stands suddenly vanished, appearing in the center of the Battle Arena in the blink of an eye. The face hidden in the mist revealed its true appearance.

It was a purple-haired middle-aged man in purple robes. Lightning flickered in his eyes, and his long, flowing hair moved with the wind, every strand revealing flashes of thunder. His deep, profound gaze fell upon Ren.

"Prefect... Prefect, my lord?" The soldier standing beside Ren was dumbstruck. He had once been fortunate enough to see the Prefect from afar, so he recognized him instantly, but he had never been this close, and his body went rigid.

"Is this the Prefect of Liang'an, Alfred?" Ren pondered inwardly, meeting the gaze and beginning to size up Alfred, his fighting spirit undisguised.

While Ren sized up Alfred, Alfred also watched Ren. The two stared at each other. At the fighting spirit radiating from Ren's eyes, Alfred let out a cold snort in his heart before speaking slowly:

"Ten days from now, at the Pulebu Plain outside Liang'an City, we shall decide the victor."

After speaking, Alfred's figure blurred for a moment and then vanished entirely. Of all those present, apart from Ren who was close by, not a single person saw how he had disappeared.